


Pillar of strength

by kayejwrotes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy BDay Iwa, M/M, M/M/M/M relationship, Polyamory, Pro Volleyball Player Hanamaki Takahiro, Pro Volleyball Player Iwaizumi Hajime, Pro Volleyball Player Matsukawa Issei, Pro Volleyball Player Oikawa Tooru, YOU DESERVE ALL THE LOVE, just indulging my need for Matsuhanaiwaoi, they all love each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 07:39:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19168759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayejwrotes/pseuds/kayejwrotes
Summary: It probably started when they all went to university.He hadn't felt strong at all. Without them, he felt like a crumbling pillar.





	Pillar of strength

**Author's Note:**

> I just needed myself a little Iwa love. Because he deserves to be loved.

Hajime pinched his forearm twice.  
It was still so hard to believe it.  
Even in moments like these, people shouting on the bleachers, the screeching of sneakers on the court, the piercing thrill of the referee’s whistle… it was surreal.

There was a moment in his life when he couldn't see himself belonging in such a place.  
As weird as it may seem for someone who'd been dubbed “pillar of strength” since high school. 

It probably started when they all went to university.  
He hadn't felt strong at all. Without them, he felt like a crumbling pillar.  
It was around that time, when seeing each other had become a matter of schedules, exams and train stops.  
They had all chosen universities nearby, but for some reason that first semester had kept them apart despite their best efforts.  
It wasn't for lack of trying, but something kept getting in the way.

One time it was volleyball practice, one time it was a sudden report they had forgotten, another time it was an unpredictable cold, a practice match away.  
There was always something.

Hajime had felt alone that first semester.  
They kept texting, they tried to Skype almost every week, but it wasn't the same. Words didn't feel the same.  
The boys weren't there with him, just a ten minutes walk away like before.  
It wasn't that he hadn't gotten new friends between his classmates or the guys from the uni volleyball team… they were nice people, but they weren't the boys, his boys.

Volleyball practice, the thing that he had loved the most before, didn't even feel the same without them.  
He kept telling himself it was the fact that he wasn't first string yet, that the coach was harsh, that he had yet to really bond with his teammates, but in the dark of his dorm room, when he was alone, his roommate partying somewhere else, he knew that it was because they weren't there, with him.

There was no snuggling against the gym walls, sweaty and tired, but satisfied. There was no coming home together after practice, hollering and running to the combini store last one has to pay.  
The walk alone toward his dorm room after practice was a silent affair.  
More often than not he would see the backs of the second and third years heading in the opposite direction, plans for beer and food already discussed in the locker room.  
Even if they had invited him, he would've felt out of place.  
There was no fun in drinking when Makki wasn't there to hang off of him, arm draped lazily around his shoulders, as he incited the ultimate battle of chopsticks between Mattsun and Oikawa.

Those months had been harsh on him.  
Also because he called them his boys, but they weren't as a matter of fact.

Whatever had been there, boiling under the surface, had been left like that, simmering at low flame.

It had made him cranky and grumpy around them whenever they met, especially with the months passing and nothing really happening.

Until one night of June they had surprised him.  
As he was leaving the gym, he had found them there waiting for him, big smiles and arms open, ready to whisk him away for one night.

It had been the first of many faithful nights were their schedules had finally met.  
Nights of going out, staying in, movies and games. Nights of sneaking furtively inside the gym of Hanamaki's campus - how he'd managed to get a copy it was a mystery - and doing impromptu two on two, collapsing on the floor and just laying there, sticky limbs touching but none of them moving away.  
Nights of secretly holding Oikawa’s hands when they get to the emotional parts in shitty rom-coms or petting Mattsun’s hair during the scary scenes in horror movies.

It had been like that.  
Piece by piece, the crumbling pillar had been put together once again.

He had always believed falling in love would happen one person at a time, in a precise moment, like a lightning strike.  
It had been a slow process, bit by bit, keeping each other close, the four of them.  
He had come to the conclusion he really loved them, night after night.

All the self doubting, all the loneliness, all those feelings he had pushed away in that first semester apart, were suddenly blown away by the encompassing love that filled his heart for Tooru, Issei and Takahiro.  
There wasn't place for anything else in his heart anymore. It was overwhelmingly beautiful.

Time had passed, university had ended.  
Even if another part of his life was coming to a close, the uneasy feeling that had been there at the end of high school was nowhere to be seen.

Wherever life would take them, Hajime knew they'd have each others back, a place in their hearts.

It was a surprise a few years later when in their shared group chat, instead of the last candid photo from Makki and Oikawa's locker shenanigans, there it was. Four screenshots of the same mail.  
An official convocation letter by Japan National Volleyball team.

It had felt like a dream.  
Playing with them, with his first teammates, friends, boyfriends, on such a prestigious court.  
It was the dream they all had as kids and that no one dared to voice anymore in fear of breaking such a fortuitous spell.

The first spike he had received after so long from Tooru's toss had felt like breathing again for the first time in years.  
Standing on the front line side by side with Issei and Takahiro had felt like rain pouring on thirsty soil.

It had felt like a dream, and even now, when they had already two set behind themselves, and Tooru was readying himself for one of his famous jump serves, Hajime still felt the need to pinch himself harsh on his bruised arms.

Here he was, on June 10th, disputing the last match of the Volleyball World Championship, side by side with his boyfriends.  
Despite the pressure on this point, he was feeling calm. His heartbeat was steady. His hands were firm. It was in this moment, that he really felt to deserve that title of “unshakeable pillar of strength”.  
No matter what, he'd do his best for them.

Silence had fallen around them.  
The referee signalled the time for the serve.  
One, two, three… Oikawa jumped up, graceful and powerful against the lights of the gym.  
The hand slamming on the ball resonated across the court, and for a moment Hajime thought they had already won. There wasn't anyone able to catch that serve… and yet the libero from the other team managed it.  
The other team tried to attack but Makki, Mattsun and Kuroo’s block managed to deflect the terrifying counterattack.

Nishinoya saved the ball with a swift roll to the side. Oikawa looked at him and tossed.

In that moment Hajime saw it.  
From the second line he jumped, the ball right at the apex of his trajectory, the perfect place for his hand to hit it.

The sound of the ball slamming against the court was deafening.  
For a moment the court was silent.

The the referee whistled and it hit him.  
They won. 

Three sweaty bodies surrounded him and there were shouts and kisses and hugs and sparkling eyes. So proud and happy.

The rest of the team joined in, but in that moment Hajime could only see their smiles, so full of joy and pride for their ace, their pillar of strength, their love.

If there were tears running down Hajime’s cheeks no one said anything. Because the smile on his lips didn't need any further word.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> As always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated! They feed my muse!  
> Also, if you wanna chat you can find me on Twitter/Tumblr at kayejwrotes.


End file.
